Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Renewable energy resources: Current status, future prospects and their

enabling technology
Omar Ellabban a,b,n, Haitham Abu-Rub b, Frede Blaabjerg c
a
Department of Power and Electrical Machines, Faculty of Engineering, Helwan University, Cairo 11790, Egypt
b
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Doha 23874, Qatar
c
Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg , Denmark

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Electric energy security is essential, yet the high cost and limited sources of fossil fuels, in addition to the
Received 24 September 2013 need to reduce greenhouse gasses emission, have made renewable resources attractive in world energy-
Received in revised form based economies. The potential for renewable energy resources is enormous because they can, in
11 July 2014
principle, exponentially exceed the world's energy demand; therefore, these types of resources will have
Accepted 11 July 2014
a signicant share in the future global energy portfolio, much of which is now concentrating on
advancing their pool of renewable energy resources. Accordingly, this paper presents how renewable
Keywords: energy resources are currently being used, scientic developments to improve their use, their future
Biomass energy prospects, and their deployment. Additionally, the paper represents the impact of power electronics and
Geothermal energy
smart grid technologies that can enable the proportionate share of renewable energy resources.
Hydropower energy
& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Marine energy
Solar energy
Wind energy
Smart grid

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
2. Description of renewable energy sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
2.1. Biomass energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
2.2. Geothermal energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
2.3. Hydropower energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
2.4. Marine energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
2.5. Solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
2.5.1. Photovoltaic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
2.5.2. Concentrating solar power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
2.5.3. Solar thermal heating and cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
2.6. Wind energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
3. Renewable energy: Benets, growth, investment and deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756
4. Power electronics in renewable energy systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
5. Smart grid enable renewables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: 974 4423 0637; fax: 974 4423 0011.
E-mail addresses: omar.ellabban@qatar.tamu.edu (O. Ellabban), haitham.abu-rub@qatar.tamu.edu (H. Abu-Rub), fbl@et.aau.dk (F. Blaabjerg).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.113
1364-0321/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764 749

1. Introduction states, their share in different end use applications, and their
benets, growth, investment and deployment. Furthermore,
Conventional energy sources based on oil, coal, and natural gas power electronics and smart grid will be discussed as enabling
have proven to be highly effective drivers of economic progress. technologies for different renewable energy resources.
However, with the rapid depletion of conventional energy sources
and increasing energy demand, worldwide primary energy con-
sumption has grown by 1.8% in 2012 [1]. Due to certain environ- 2. Description of renewable energy sources
mental issues, many related organizations have encouraged
intensive research for more efcient and green power plants 2.1. Biomass energy
utilizing advanced technology. Since environmental protection
concerns are increasing, both clean fuel technologies and new Biomass is the term used for all organic material originating
energies are being intensively pursued and investigated. In fact, from plants, trees and crops, and is essentially the collection and
fossil fuel and renewable energy prices, social and environmental
costs are moving in opposite directions and the economic and
policy mechanisms needed to support the widespread dissemina-
tion of sustainable markets for renewable energy systems are
rapidly evolving. It is clear that future growth in the energy sector
is primarily in the new regime of renewable. Therefore, shifting to
renewable energy can help us meet the dual goals of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, thereby limiting future extreme
weather and climate impacts, and ensuring reliable, timely, and
cost-efcient delivery of energy. Investing in renewable energy
can have signicant dividends for our energy security.
Renewable energies are energy sources that are continually
replenished by nature and derived directly from the sun (such as
thermal, photo-chemical, and photo-electric), indirectly from the
sun (such as wind, hydropower, and photosynthetic energy stored in
biomass), or from other natural movements and mechanisms of the
environment (such as geothermal and tidal energy). Renewable
energy does not include energy resources derived from fossil fuels,
waste products from fossil sources, or waste products from inorganic
sources [2]. Fig. 1 shows an overview of renewable energy sources
[3,4]. Renewable energy technologies turn these natural energy
sources into usable forms of energyelectricity, heat and fuels.
Fig. 2 illustrates the ability of renewable energy sources to provide Fig. 2. Energy resources of the world [5].
over 3000 times the current global energy needs [5].
Renewable energy markets electricity, heating and transpor- Table 1
tation have been growing sharply over the last ve years. The World renewable energy use by type [7].
deployment of established technologies, such as hydro, as well as
2010 2020 2035
newer technologies such as wind and solar photovoltaic, has risen
quickly, which has increased condence in the technologies, Electricity generation (TW h) 4206 6999 11,342
reduced costs and opened up new opportunities [6]. Bioenergy 331 696 1,487
Global electricity generation from renewable energy sources is Hydro 3431 4513 5,677
expected to grow 2.7 times between 2010 and 2035, as indicated Wind 342 1272 2,681
Geothermal 68 131 315
by Table 1. Consumption of biofuels is projected to more than
Solar PV 32 332 846
triple over the same period to reach 4.5 million barrels of oil Concentrating solar power 2 50 278
equivalent per day (mboe/d), up from 1.3 mboe/d in 2010. Almost Marine 1 5 57
all biofuels are used in road transport, but the consumption of Share of total generation 20% 25% 31%
Heat demand (Mtoe) 337 447 604
aviation biofuels will make an inroad towards 2035. The use of
Industry 207 263 324
modern renewables to produce heat will almost double, from Buildings and agriculture 131 184 280
337 Mtoe in 2010 to 604 Mtoe in 2035. The share of renewables in Share of total production 10% 12% 14%
electricity generation is higher than in heat production or Trans- Biofuels (mboe/d) 1.3 2.4 4.5
portation road, as shown in Fig. 3 [7]. Road transport 1.3 2.4 4.4
Aviation 0.1
The goal of the paper is to present an overview of the different
Share of total transport 2% 4% 6%
types of renewable energy resources, their current and future

Renewable Energy Resources

Wind Energy Marine Energy Solar Energy Hydro Energy Geothermal Energy Bioenergy

Onshore Offsore Solar PV Concentrating Bioenergy for

Solar Heating electricity and heat Biofuels
Solar Power

Fig. 1. Overview of renewable energy sources.

750 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764

storage of the sun's energy through photosynthesis. Biomass Biomass for bioenergy comes either directly from the land, such
energy (bioenergy) is the conversion of biomass into useful forms as from dedicated energy crops, or from residues generated in the
of energy such as heat, electricity and liquid fuels (biofuels). processing of crops for food or other products [810].
Biomass energy is renewable and sustainable, but shares with
fossil fuels many characteristics. While biomass can be directly
burned to obtain energy, it can also serve as a feedstock to be
converted to various liquid or gas fuels (biofuels). Biofuels can be
transported and stored, and allow for heat and power generation
on demand, which is essential in an energy mix with a high
dependence on intermittent sources such as wind. These simila-
rities account for the major role biomass is expected to play in
future energy scenarios [11]. Therefore, a recently emerging
strategy is to develop biorenery and biotransformation technol-
ogies to convert biomass feedstock into clean energy fuels. Inter-
conversion of various biomass and energy forms in the carbon
cycle is illustrated in Fig. 4, [12]. Biomass feedstock can be
converted in to bioenergy via thermo-chemical and bio-chemical
conversion processes. These processes include combustion, pyr-
olysis, gasication, and anaerobic digestion, as indicated in Fig. 5.
Moreover, the utilization of biomass-derived fuels will also greatly
mitigate current energy security and trade balance issues, and
foster socio-economic developments for many nations, as indi-
cated in Table 2 [13].
In contrast to the benets, there are signicant barriers to
Fig. 3. Share of renewables by category [7]. biomass-to-energy facilities. Biomass fuels have low energy den-
sities, and collection and transportation can be cost prohibitive.
Using biomass to generate electricity is technologically well
established, but the price paid for electricity seldom offsets the
full cost of the biomass fuel. Bioenergy fuels are intensive in the
Sun
use of inputs, which include land, water, crops, and fossil energy,
all of which have opportunity cost.
Globally, installed biomass plant capacity rose from 66 GW in
CO2 in atmosphere 2010 to 72 GW by the end of 2011 and with annual average growth
Combustion Combustion
rate of about 5% in 2012, the accumulated capacity reached 76 GW.
In the long term, biomass and waste power generation could grow
Natural Biomass Harvesting from 62 GW in 2010 to 270 GW in 2030, as illustrated by Fig. 6 [14].
Hydrocarbons Synfuels
production growth
conversion

Fossilization 2.2. Geothermal energy

Harvesting Conversion
and recovery

Geothermal energy is a powerful and efcient way to extract

Consumption Feeds and Consumption renewable energy from the earth by natural processes. This can be
Wastes foodstuff Wastes
disposal products disposal performed on a small scale to provide heat for a residential unit by
using a geothermal heat pump, or on a large scale for energy
Fig. 4. Main features of the biomass energy technology. production through a geothermal power plant. Geothermal power

Fig. 5. Biopower conversion processes for different end products.

 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
Table 2
Potential benets and technical limitations of biomass energy [13].
Potential benets
Environmental gains
 Reduced dependency on environmentally damaging fossil fuels and
petroleum products
 Lowered levels of greenhouse gas emissions
 Reduced smog and toxic chemical emissions
 Use of waste materials reducing the need for landll sites
Economic benets
 Relatively inexpensive resources
 Locally distributed energy sources provide constancy and reliability
 More widely distributed access to energy
 Price stability
 Generation of employment opportunities in rural communities
 Biomass and bioenergy technology export opportunities
 Use of underutilized biomass resources as a renewable and inexhaustible
fuel source
Fig. 6. Biomass and waste installed capacity for power generation states as
projected from 2010 to 2025 [14].
is considered a cost effective, reliable, and environmentally
friendly energy source [15].
Geothermal energy resources consist of thermal energy from
the earth's interior stored in both rock and trapped steam or liquid
water. Geothermal systems occur in different geological environ-
ments where the temperatures and depths of the reservoirs
vary accordingly. Many high-temperature hydrothermal systems
(greater than 180 1C) are associated with recent volcanic.
Intermediate-temperature (between 100 and 180 1C) and low-
temperature (less than100 1C) systems are also found in continen-
tal settings, where above-normal heat production through radio-
active isotope decay increases terrestrial heat ow or where
aquifers are charged by water heated through circulation along
deeply penetrating fault zones. Under appropriate conditions,
high, intermediate and low temperature geothermal elds can
be utilized for both power generation and the direct use of heat
[16,17].
Geothermal energy sources are classied as hydrothermal
systems, conductive systems and deep aquifers. Hydrothermal
systems include liquid and vapor dominated types. Conductive
systems include hot rock and magma over a wide range of
temperatures, and deep aquifers contain circulating uids in
751
Technical limitations
Environmental threats
 Use of protected land for biomass production
 Depletion of local water supplies
 High demand for fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, leading to an increase in air and
soil pollution
 Possibility of global climate change with increased atmospheric CO2 production
 Use of genetically engineered crops and microorganisms can possibly affect
ecosystems
 Reduced biodiversity due to soil pollution and/or industrial cultivation of favored crop
species
 Increased particulate carbon emissions from wood burning
Associated technologies
 Collection storage of feedstock
 Pre-treatment of biomass
 Enzyme production
 Cost of technology manufacturing and maintenance
porous media or fracture zones at depths typically greater than
3 km, though they lack a localized magmatic heat source.
Geothermal energy resource utilization technologies can be
grouped under types for electrical power generation, direct use of
heat, or combined heat and power in cogeneration applications.
Geothermal heat pump (GHP) technologies are a subset of direct
use. Currently, the only commercially exploited geothermal sys-
tems for power generation and direct use are hydrothermal.
Table 3 summarizes the resources and utilization technologies
[18,19].
In 2012, geothermal capacities grew by 2.6% (290 MW) to reach
11.4 GW, as shown in Fig. 7. The US has the largest geothermal
capacity, now just under 3.4 GW (29.6% of the world total),
followed by the Philippines (2.0 GW), Indonesia (1.3 GW) and
Mexico (0.8 GW), Fig. 8a illustrates the installed geothermal
electric capacity as of 2012 in the top ten countries [20]. By
2050, the projected installed capacity of geothermal power plants
is expected to be between 140 GWe and 160 GWe, while the
potential installed capacity for direct uses could reach 800 GWth,
as indicated in Fig. 8b [21].
2.3. Hydropower energy
Hydropower is a power that is derived from the energy of
moving water. Flowing water creates energy that can be captured
and converted into electricity by using turbines. The most pre-
valent form of hydropower is dams, although newer forms
harnessing wave and tidal power are becoming more common.
Hydropower is generated from water moving in the hydro-
logical cycle, which is driven by solar radiation. It is the ow of
water in rivers, driven by the force of gravity to move from higher
to lower elevations that can be used to generate hydropower.
Hydropower plants (HPP) span a very large range of scales, from a
few watts to several GW. The largest projects are Itaipu in Brazil
with 14,000 MW and Three Gorges in China with 22,400 MW, both
producing between 80 to 100 TW h/yr. Hydropower projects are
always site-specic, and, thus, designed according to the river
system they inhabit. Historical, regional hydropower generation
from 1965 to 2012 is shown in Fig. 9 [22,23]. Five countries make
up more than half of the world's hydropower production: China,
Brazil, Canada, USA and Russia [24]. Fig. 10 illustrates the top ten
countries in hydropower generation in 2012. Over the next decade,
hydropower should increase by approximately 180 GW of installed
capacity if projects currently under construction proceed as
planned. This increase corresponds to roughly one-quarter of the
752 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
Table 3
Types of geothermal resources, temperatures and their applications.
Type In-situ uids Subtype
Convective systems (hydrothermal) Yes Continental
Submarine
Conductive systems No Shallow ( o 400 m)
Hot rock (EGS)
Magma bodies
Deep aquifer systems Yes Hydrostatic aquifers
Geo-pressured
H: high, I: intermediate, L: low.
Fig. 7. Global context of global and US geothermal installed capacity 19602012.
currently installed capacity. One-third of this increase will come
from China alone; furthermore, Turkey will see the largest capacity
additions. Brazil and India also have a large capacity under
construction, as shown in Fig. 11 [3].
Hydropower plants are classied into three categories accord-
ing to operation and type of water ow. Run-of-River (RoR),
storage (reservoir) and pumped storage HPPs vary from small to
large in terms of scale, depending on the hydrology and topogra-
phy of the watershed. A RoR HPP draws the energy for electricity
production mainly from the available ow of the river. Such a
hydropower plant may include some short-term storage, allowing
for some adaptations to the demand prole, but the generation
prole will vary according to the local river ow conditions;
therefore, generation depends on precipitation and runoff and
may have substantial daily, monthly or seasonal variations. Hydro-
power plants with a reservoir are called storage hydropower since
they store water for later consumption. The reservoir reduces the
dependence on the variability of the inow, and the generating
stations are located on a downstream connected to the reservoir
through pipelines. The type and design of reservoirs are decided
by the landscape. Pumped storage hydropower plants are not
energy sources, but they can be as storage devices. In such a
system, water is pumped from a lower reservoir into an upper
reservoir, usually during off-peak hours, while ow is reversed to
generate electricity during the daily peak load period. Although the
losses of the pumping process make such a plant a net energy
consumer, the plant is able to provide large-scale energy storage
system benets. In fact, pumped storage is the largest-capacity form
of grid energy storage now readily available worldwide [21,25].
Hydropower is a proven and well-advanced technology based
on more than a century of experience. Hydropower today is an
extremely exible power technology with among the best conver-
sion efciencies of all energy sources (90%, water to wire) due to
its direct transformation of hydraulic energy to electricity. Still,
there is room for further improvement by rening operation,
reducing environmental impacts, adapting to new social and
Temperature range Utilization
Current Future
H, I and L Power, direct use
H None Power
L Direct use (GHP)
H, I Prototypes Power, direct use
H None Power, direct use
H, I and L Direct use Power, direct use
Direct use Power, direct use
environmental requirements and developing more robust and
cost-effective technological solutions [21].
2.4. Marine energy
The renewable marine (ocean) energy comes from six distinct
sources: waves, tidal range, tidal currents, ocean currents, ocean
thermal energy conversion and salinity gradients, each with
different origins and requiring different technologies for conver-
sion. All ocean energy technologies, except tidal barrages, are
conceptually undergoing intensive research and development, or
are in the pre-commercial prototype and demonstration stage. The
theoretical potential for ocean energy technologies has been
estimated at 7400 EJ/yr, exceeding current and future human
energy needs. Relatively few assessments have been conducted
on the technical potential of the various ocean energy technologies
and such potentials will vary based on future technological
development [2628]. Fig. 12 shows the global ocean energy
forecasting depending on device technology and infrastructure
available [29]. Since the ocean energy sectors are still in the
development phase, less than 3 MW of capacity were installed
per year for both wave power and energy from tidal currents
during the period 20042009. However, things are progressing,
especially in the UK, the USA and Portugal, and the installed
capacity should increase by around 25 MW/yr, as indicated by
Fig. 13, [30].
2.5. Solar energy
Solar energy generation involves the use of the sun's energy to
provide hot water via solar thermal systems or electricity via solar
photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) systems.
These technologies are technically well proven with numerous
systems installed around the world over the last few decades [31].
2.5.1. Photovoltaic
Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems directly convert solar energy
into electricity. The basic building block of a PV system is the PV
cell, which is a semiconductor device that converts solar energy
into directcurrent electricity. PV cells are interconnected to form
a PV module, typically up to 50 to 200 W. The PV modules,
combined with a set of additional applicationdependent system
components (e.g., inverters, batteries, electrical components, and
mounting systems), form a PV system. PV systems are highly
modular, i.e., modules can be linked together to provide power
ranging from a few watts to tens of megawatts.
The most established solar PV technologies are silicon based
systems. More recently, so called thin lm modules, which can also
consist of non-silicon semiconductor material, have become
increasingly important. Although thin lms generally have a lower
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764 753

Fig. 8. (a) Cumulative installed geothermal generating capacity by top ten countries in 2012 (b) estimated geothermal deployments for electricity and heat applications [21].

Fig. 9. Hydropower generation (TW h) by region.

Concentrating PV cells have very high efciencies of up to 40%.

Fig. 10. Hydropower generation by top ten countries in 2012.
efciency than silicon modules, their price per unit of capacity is
lower. Concentrating PV, where sunlight is focused onto a smaller
area, is on the edge of entering full market deployment.
Other technologies, such as organic PV cells, are still in the
research phase [32].
Solar PV combines two advantages. On the one hand, module
manufacturing can be done in large plants, which allows for econo-
mies of scale. On the other hand, PV is a very modular technology.
Compared to concentrating solar power (CSP), PV has the advantage
that it uses not only direct sunlight but also the diffuse component of
sunlight, i.e., solar PV produces power even if the sky is not completely
clear. This capability allows the effective deployment in many more
regions in the world than for CSP [33].
Photovoltaic systems are classied into two major types: off-
grid and grid-connected applications. Off-grid PV systems have a
signicant opportunity for economic application in the un-
electried areas of developing countries, and off-grid centralized
PV mini-grid systems have become a reliable alternative for village
electrication over the last few years. Centralized systems for local
power supply have different technical advantages concerning
electrical performance, reduction of storage needs, availability of
energy, and dynamic behavior. Centralized PV mini-grid systems
could be the most cost efcient for a given level of service, and
754 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
Fig. 11. Global hydropower projects under construction, cumulative additional
capacity by year of expected commissioning [3].
they may have a diesel generator set as an optional balancing
system or operate as a hybrid PV-wind-diesel system. These kinds
of systems are relevant for reducing and avoiding diesel generator
use in remote areas [34].
Grid tied PV systems use an inverter to convert electricity from
direct current to alternating current, and then supply the gener-
ated electricity to the electric grid. Compared to an off-grid
installation, system costs are lower because energy storage is not
required since the grid is used as a buffer. Grid-connected PV
systems are classied into two types of applications: distributed
and centralized. Grid-connected distributed PV systems are
installed to provide power to a grid-connected customer or
directly to the electric network. These systems have a number of
advantages: distribution losses in the electric network are reduced
because the system is installed at the point of use; extra land is not
required for the PV system, and costs for mounting the systems
can be reduced if the system is mounted on an existing structure;
and the PV array itself can be used as a cladding or roong
material, as in building-integrated PV. Typical sizes are 1 to 4 kW
for residential systems, and 10 kW to several MW for rooftops on
public and industrial buildings.
Grid-connected centralized PV systems perform the functions
of centralized power stations. The power supplied by such a
system is not associated with a particular electricity customer,
and the system is not located to specically perform functions on
the electricity network other than to supply bulk power. Typically,
centralized systems are mounted on the ground, and they are
larger than 1 MW. The economic advantages of these systems are
the optimization of installation and operating costs by bulk buying
and the cost effectiveness of the PV components and balance of
systems on a large scale. In addition, the reliability of centralized
PV systems can be greater than distributed PV systems because
they can have maintenance systems with monitoring equipment,
which can be a smaller part of the total system cost [35].
New installations totaling 30.2 GW in 2012 took global solar
power generating capacity to 100 GW by year-end, a 43.3%
increase versus the end of 2011. Capacity has grown more than
ten-fold over the past 5 years, with more than half of the
growth in capacity in Europe, led by Germany (7.6 GW) and Italy
(3.4 GW). Germany remains the world's leader for cumulative
installed capacity (32.6 GW), and Italy (16.2 GW) comes in second.
The top marketsGermany, Italy, China, the United States, and
Japanwere also the leaders for total capacity, as indicated by
Fig. 14 [1]. In addition, Fig. 15 shows the global PV annual market
scenarios until 2016 [36,37].
2.5.2. Concentrating solar power
Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies produce electri-
city by concentrating direct-beam solar irradiance to heat a liquid,
solid or gas that is then used in a downstream process for
electricity generation. Large-scale CSP plants most commonly
concentrate sunlight by reection, as opposed to refraction with
lenses. Concentration is either to a line (linear focus) as in trough
or linear fresnel systems or to a point (point focus) as in central-
receiver or dish systems. CSP applications range from small
distributed systems of tens of kW to large centralized power
stations of hundreds of MW. The earliest commercial CSP plants
were the 354 MW of solar electric generating stations in California
that continue to operate commercially today. As a result of the
positive experiences and lessons learned from these early plants,
the trough systems tend to be most often applied today as the CSP
industry grows [38,39].
Regarding the CSP electricity generation, at the beginning of
2009, more than 700 MW of grid-connected CSP plants were
installed worldwide, with another 1500 MW under construction.
The majority of installed plants use parabolic trough technology.
A central receiver comprises a growing share of plants under
construction and those announced.
The concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) market continued
to advance in 2012, with total global capacity up more than 60% to
about 2550 MW. The market doubled relative to 2011, with Spain
accounting for most of the 970 MW brought into operation, as
indicated by Fig. 16. The bulk of the operating capacity is installed
in Spain and the South-Western United States, as shown in Fig. 17
[21].
2.5.3. Solar thermal heating and cooling
Solar heating and cooling technologies collect thermal energy
from the sun and use this heat to provide hot water, space heating,
cooling, and pool heating for residential, commercial, and indus-
trial applications. By the end of 2012, global solar thermal capacity
in operation reached an estimated 282 GWth. Global capacity of
glazed water collectors reached 255 GWth. The top countries for
total capacity in operation were China, Germany, Turkey, Brazil
and India. Fig. 18 indicates solar water heating global capacity for
glazed water collectors only, [40].
2.6. Wind energy
Wind power is dened by the conversion of wind energy by
wind turbines into a useful form, such as using wind turbines to
make electricity, wind mills for mechanical power, wind pumps
for pumping water or drainage, or sails to propel ships. The rst
wind turbines for electricity generation were developed at the
beginning of the 20th century. The technology has gradually
improved since the early 1970s. By the end of the 1990s, wind
energy has re-emerged as one of the most important sustainable
energy resources [41].
Generating electricity from the wind requires that the kinetic
energy of moving air be converted to mechanical and then
electrical energy, thus challenging the industry to design cost
effective wind turbines and power plants to perform this conver-
sion. The amount of kinetic energy in the wind that is theoretically
available for extraction increases with the cube of the wind speed.
However, a turbine only captures a fraction of that available
energy (4050%), so wind turbine design has focused on max-
imizing energy capture over the range of wind speeds experienced
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
Fig. 12. Global Ocean energy forecasting.
Fig. 13. Installed capacity for waves and sea currents for 20042013 [30].
by wind turbines, while seeking to minimize the cost of wind
energy tacking all parameters in account. To minimize cost, wind
turbine design is also motivated by a desire to reduce materials
usage while continuing to increase turbine size, increase compo-
nent and system reliability, and improve wind power plant
operations.
From 1970 to 1980, a variety of onshore wind turbine cong-
urations were investigated, including both horizontal and vertical
axis designs. Gradually, the horizontal axis design came to dom-
inate, although congurations varied, particularly the number of
blades and blades orientation. Onshore wind turbines are typically
grouped together into wind power plants, sometimes also called
wind farms. These wind power plants are often 5 to 300 MW in
size, though smaller and larger plants do exist. Offshore wind
energy technology is less mature than onshore, and has higher
investment. The motivations for developing offshore wind energy
include: the higher-quality wind resources located at sea; the
ability to use even larger wind turbines; the ability to build larger
power plants than onshore; and the potential reduction in the
need for land-based transmission infrastructure [42,43].
From an electric system reliability perspective, an important
part of the wind turbine is the electrical conversion system. For
large grid-connected turbines, electrical conversion systems come
in three different forms. Fixed-speed induction generators were
popular in earlier years for both stall-regulated and pitch-
755
Fig. 14. Solar PV global capacity, shares of top 10 countries, 2012 [10].
controlled turbines; in these arrangements, wind turbines were
net consumers of reactive power that had to be supplied by the
electric network. For modern turbines, these designs have now
been replaced with variable-speed machines. Two arrangements
are common, doubly-fed induction generators and synchronous
generators with a full power electronic converter, both of which
are almost always coupled with pitch-controlled rotors. These
variable speed designs essentially decouple the rotating masses of
the turbine from the electric system, thereby offering a number of
power quality advantages over earlier turbine designs. These
turbines can provide real and reactive power, as well as some
fault ride-through capability, all of which are required by electric
network operators.
During 2012, almost 45 GW of wind power capacity began
operation, increasing global wind capacity 19% to almost 283 GW,
as shown in Fig. 19a. Approximately 44 countries added capacity
during 2012, at least 64 had more than 10 MW of reported
capacity by year's end, and 24 had more than 1 GW in operation.
From the end of 2007 through 2012, annual growth rates of
cumulative wind power capacity averaged 25%. The United States
and China together accounted for nearly 60% of the global market
in 2012, followed distantly by Germany, India, and the United
Kingdom. Others in the top 10 for capacity added were Italy, Spain,
Brazil, Canada and Romania as shown in Fig. 19b [44].
756 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
Fig. 15. Total global annual PV market divided per region until 2016 [36].
Fig. 16. Global installed PV capacity, 19842012 [40].
After the description of the different renewable energy sources,
it should be noted that each source of renewable energy has its
advantages and disadvantages as summarized by Table 4, further-
more, Table 5 shows some negative environmental impacts of
renewable energy resources.
3. Renewable energy: Benets, growth, investment and
deployment
Renewable energy can provide a host of benets to society, as
shown in Fig. 20. In addition to the reduction of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions, governments have enacted renewable energy
(RE) policies to meet a number of objectives including the creation
of local environmental and health benets; facilitation of energy
access, particularly for rural areas; advancement of energy security
goals by diversifying the portfolio of energy technologies and
Fig. 17. Global installed and planned concentrated solar power (CPS) plants
distributed by country [21].
Fig. 18. Solar water heating global capacity, 20002012 [40].
resources; and improving social and economic development
through potential employment opportunities [45].
Global demand for renewable energy continued to rise during
2011 and 2012, supplying an estimated 19% of global nal energy
consumption in 2011. Total renewable power capacity worldwide
exceeded 1470 GW in 2012, up about 8.5% from 2011. Hydropower
rose 3% to an estimated 990 GW, while other renewables grew
21.5% to exceed 480 GW. Globally, wind power accounted for about
39% of the renewable power capacity added in 2012, followed by
hydropower and solar PV, each accounting for approximately 26%.
In power generation, global wind power capacity grew by 20% in
2011 (to 238 GW), after growing by an annual average of 26% over
the ve-year period 20062011. Solar PV capacity grew by a record
74% in 2011 (to 70 GW), after growing by an average of 58% over
the ve-year period. Solar thermal power (CSP) grew by 35% in
2011. In contrast, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal power
have been mature for decades, and ve-year growth rates for these
renewables were more on par with conventional energy technol-
ogies. In terms of total power generation capacity, renewable
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764 757

Fig. 19. (a) Wind power total world capacity, 19962012, (b) wind power capacity, top 10 countries, 2012 [40].

Table 4
Advantages and disadvantages of different renewable energy resources.

Energy source Advantages Disadvantages

Biomass energy  Abundant and renewable  Burning biomass can result in air pollution
 Can be used to burn waste products  May not be cost effective

Geothermal  Provides an unlimited supply of energy  Start-up/development costs can be expensive

energy  Produces no air or water pollution  Maintenance costs, due to corrosion, can be a problem

Hydropower  Abundant, clean, and safe
 Easily stored in reservoirs
 Relatively inexpensive way to produce electricity
 Offers recreational benets like boating,
shing, etc.
 Can cause the ooding of surrounding communities and landscapes.
 Dams have major ecological impacts on local hydrology. Can have a signicant
environmental impact
 Can be used only where there is a water supply
 Best sites for dams have already been developed

Marine energy  Ideal for an island country  Construction can be costly

 Captures energy that would otherwise not be  Opposed by some environmental groups as having a negative impact on wildlife
collected  Takes up lots of space and difcult for shipping to move around

Solar energy  Potentially innite energy supply  May not be cost effective
 Causes no air or water pollution  Storage and backup are necessary
 Reliability depends on availability of sunlight

Wind energy  Is a free source of energy  Requires constant and signicant amounts of wind
 Produces no water or air pollution  Wind farms require signicant amounts of land
 Wind farms are relatively inexpensive to build  Can have a signicant visual impact on landscapes
 Land around wind farms can have other uses  Need better ways to store energy

Table 5
Some negative environmental impacts of different renewable energy resources.

Energy source Potential negative impacts on the environment

Biomass May not be CO2 natural, may release global warming gases like methane during the production of biofuels, landscape change,
deterioration of soil productivity, hazardous waste
Geothermal subsidence, landscape change, polluting waterways, air emissions
Hydropower Change in local eco-systems, change in weather conditions, social and cultural impacts
Marine energy Landscape change, reduction in water motion or circulation, killing of sh by blades, changes in sea eco-system
Solar Soil erosion, landscape change, hazardous waste
Wind Noises in the area, landscape change, soil erosion, killing of birds by blades

energy reached 1360 GW in 2011, including 970 GW of hydro-
power. This means that global renewable capacity represented
about one quarter of total global power capacity [40].
From 2008 to 2012, as shown in Fig. 21, installed capacities
of many renewable energy technologies grew very rapidly, with
the fastest growth in the power sector. Total capacity of solar
photovoltaics (PV) grew at rates averaging 60% annually. Concen-
trating solar thermal power (CSP) capacities increased more than
40% per year on average, growing from a small base, and wind
power increased 25% annually over this period. Hydropower
and geothermal power are more mature technologies and their
growth rates have been more modest, in the range of 34% per
758 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764

year. Bio-power is also mature but with steady growth in solid and importance of renewable energy development is gaining global
gaseous biomass capacity, increasing at an average 8% annually importance.
[40]. Fig. 24 depicts a diagram of a renewable energy market
Renewable energies have accounted for a growing share of development. Technological changes play a signicant role in the
electric capacity added worldwide each year; in 2012, they dynamics of renewable energy development, and through this
comprised more than 26% of total global power generating development, efciency and effectiveness of investments is deter-
capacity and supplied an estimated 21.7% of global electricity. mined, particularly the cost and maturity of a specic technology.
They are currently used in the transport sector in the form of Furthermore, as time passes and the use of a technology increases,
liquid and gaseous biofuels, which, in 2012, provided over 2.5% of costs will be reduced. During this development process, the
global transport fuels [40]. government is inuential in several ways, such as supporting
Projections for global renewable energy capacity in 2030, from capacity expansions, setting regulations, and promoting global
a variety of scenarios, show wind power capacity increasing use of renewable energy. Additionally, market and customers
between 4-fold and 12-fold, solar PV between 7-fold and 25-fold, satisfaction affects the producers of renewable energy in their
CSP between 20-fold and 350-fold, bio-power between 3-fold ability to compete with conventional energy producers.
and 5-fold, geothermal between 4-fold and 15-fold, and hydro
between 30% and 80%, based on actual 2011 GW of capacity [40].
New global investments in renewable power and fuels was USD
244 billion in 2012, down 12% from the previous year's record
amount of USD 279 billion, as indicated in Fig. 22. The decline in
investment, after several years of growth, resulted from uncer-
tainty over support policies in Europe and the United States, as
well as from actual retroactive reductions in support. On a more
positive note, it also resulted from sharp reductions in technology
costs. Fig. 23 shows the global 2012 new investment in renewable
energy distributed by technology. Renewable energy sources
present the prospect of energy utilization with minimum impact
on the environment, particularly in relation to gas emission. The

POLITICAL
Fig. 22. Global new investment in renewable energy, 20042012.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Create actors in a renewable
powered future
GHG emissions
reduction
Build power & action

Increase in
Win hearts & environmental
minds values &
behavior

Local ownership & decision Shareholder income

making Community assest
Regional development & Community income
Community building &
Income diversification
empowerment Local jobs
Renewable energy
SOCIAL education & training
ECONOMIC
Renewable energy industry
development

Energy self-sufficiency
TECHNOLOGICAL

Fig. 20. Global benets of renewable energies production Fig. 23. Renewable energy investments in 2012 classied by technology.

Fig. 21. Average annual growth rates of renewable energy capacity production, end-20072012 [40].
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764 759

Fig. 24. Renewable energy market development process.

Fig. 25. Barriers to renewable energy technology deployment [47].

Financially, however, needs are fullled with respect to prot-
ability levels, estimated prices, demand, and costs. The market
development process should also include capacity expansion and
short to long-term production planning. Finally, the equipment
potentially used in renewable resources and its life time should be
taking in consideration through this process.
The challenges involved with deploying renewable energies
can be summarized in Fig. 25. An economic barrier is present if
the cost of a given technology is above the cost of competing
alternatives, even under optimal market conditions, with a direct
connection between technological maturity and economic bar-
riers. All other types of barriers are categorized as non-economic,
though these barriers have just as an important role in shaping the
cost of renewables. The importance of the barriers differs for each
technology and market, and the priority changes as a technology
matures along the path to commercialization.
A variety of renewable energy technologies are available at
different stages of the development cycle, as indicated in Fig. 26.
Hydro power and bioenergy are already major sources of energy
worldwide. Other options, although technically proven and
available on commercial terms, still occupy only a fraction of their
potential markets. For this reason, there are many opportunities to
improve performance and reduce costs [4749].
4. Power electronics in renewable energy systems
Power electronics technology has gained signicant maturity
after several decades of dynamic evolution of power semiconduc-
tor devices, converters, pulse width modulation (PWM) techni-
ques, electrical machines, motor drives, advanced controls, and
simulation techniques. Power electronics deals with the conver-
sion and control of electrical power with the help of power
semiconductor devices that operate in switching mode; therefore,
the efciency of power electronic apparatus may approach as high
as 9899%. With the advancement of technology, the lowered cost
of power electronics, the reduced size, and the improved perfor-
mance, power electronics applications are proliferating in
industrial, commercial, residential, aerospace, military, utility,
and transportation systems. In addition, the impact of power
760 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
Fig. 26. Maturity of selected renewable energy technologies [47].
Fig. 27. Different power electronics converter for wind turbines [57].
electronics in renewable energy systems is signicant in solving
our energy shortage because it enable the efcient generation, use,
and distribution of electrical energy by substantially improving
energy conversion efciency. Indeed, power electronics are
needed in almost all kinds of renewable energy systems. It is used
both for controlling the renewable source and for interfacing to
the load, which can be grid-connected or working in stand-alone
mode. The power may ow in both directions, of course, depend-
ing on the topology and applications [5055]. Power electronics
converters congurations interfacing different renewable energy
sources will be presented in the following subsections.
In wind power generation systems, power electronic converters
are predominantly applied to regulate the uctuating input power
and maximize the electrical energy harvested from the wind.
Up until now, the conguration of a Doubly Fed Induction Gen-
erator (DFIG) equipped with partial-scale power converter is
dominating on the market, but in the near future the conguration
with a Synchronous Generator (SG) with full-scale power
converter is expected to take over. Full-scale power converter
solutions are becoming the preferred technology choices in the
bestselling power ranges of the wind turbines. Fig. 27a shows a
power electronics converter adopted in conjunction with the DFIG.
The stator windings of DFIG are directly connected to the power
grid, while the rotor windings are connected to the power grid by
the converter, with the normal 30% capacity of the wind turbine.
Fig. 27b introduces a full-scale power converter interconnected
with the power grid and stator windings of generator, thus
regulating all the generated power from the wind turbine. The
Asynchronous Generator, Wound Rotor Synchronous Generator
(WRSG) or Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG)
have been reported as solutions to be used [56,57].
In photovoltaic (PV) systems, PV inverters are used for ef-
ciently converting the DC voltage for AC applications or integration
of the output energy into electrical grid. There are a variety of
photovoltaic power system topologies as a result of the range of
situational requirements and the rapidly advancing state of the art.
There are four general classes of PV topologies, with the multilevel
topologies building from these: (1) Centralized, (2) String, (3) AC
Modules and (4) Multistring, as shown in Fig. 28 [58,59].
Solar photovoltaic panels or small wind turbines depend on
climatic conditions to operate and produce electrical energy.
Systems that merge both sources, wind and sun, are more effective
in electric energy production, and are called hybrid systems. They
can supply stand-alone systems or grid-connected systems. Even
with hybrid systems there are periods of time when neither of the
sources produce energy. In stand-alone systems energy storage is
required to overcome this situation and provide energy during
such periods. A hybrid system combines a small wind turbine and
photovoltaic solar panels, with their outputs optimized by power
controllers. The extracted energy is used to charge a battery bank
or supply energy to an inverter, which is connected to the
consumer loads and, when it is present, to the electrical power
grid, as shown Fig. 29, [60,61].
A major source of biofuel is biogas. There are a variety of biogas
sources including the energy stored in trees, green crops,
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764 761

Fig. 28. Different grid-connected PV inverter structures. (a) Central inverter; (b) string inverter; (c) module inverter; (d) multi-string Inverter [59].

Fig. 29. Hybrid system block diagram [60].

762 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
vegetable coal, and wastes from forests, urban and prominent
agricultural wastes. There are several efcient methods of biomass
energy utilization proposed recently. The schematic of a biogas
system (BGS) is shown in Fig. 30, which shows a BGS unit
supplying a 3-phase ACAC converter system. There is a HFAC
link in concatenation with the AC converter unit. At the load end,
there is 3-phase ACAC converter to regulate the power and
supply the desired power to the utility grid [52].
Fig. 30. Biogas based power system interfaced to the grid through power
converters [52].
Fig. 31. IGBT market forecast 20112018, Yole development, France.
Fig. 32. Smarter electricity systems [62].
Fig. 33. Potential challenges in integration of renewable energy resources into the smart grid.
Since power electronics converters are the most important
system component for the grid integration of renewable energies,
the investment in this track will increase as will the investments in
renewable energies. Fig. 31 shows the IGBT market for six key
applications: motor drivethe largest IGBT; renewable energies
(PV and wind) are trending well, though they can be unpredictable
because they rely on government investments, they can be
unpredictable; mass transportation and UPS, which are based
on infrastructure needswith the need for greater efciency
pushing these markets.
5. Smart grid enable renewables
The world's electric power systems face different challenges
such as ageing infrastructure, continuous demand growth, inte-
gration of more renewable energy resources, in addition to,
improving the supply security and lowering carbon emissions.
Smart grid technologies offer ways not just to meet these chal-
lenges but also to develop a cleaner energy supply that is more
energy efcient, more affordable and more sustainable. Fig. 32
demonstrates the evolutionary character of smart grid. Smart grid
tools and technologies implemented in the electrical grid infra-
structure enable bidirectional ows of energy and communication.
These new capabilities can lead to improved efciency, reliability,
interoperability, and security [62].
Renewable energy resources can be used for power generation
as standalone or isolated system but their benets are signicantly
enhanced when they are integrated into electric utility system.
With greater use of smart grid enabling technologies, higher
degrees and rates of penetration can be accommodated. However,
the energy production from renewable energy sources is variable
(not dispatchable, intermittent and uncertain). Integration of
renewable sources in power system with their variable generation
schedules introduces certain challenges in the systems. It will
necessitate the changes in power system planning and operation
while keeping reliability and economy constraints in considera-
tions. Several factors which need to be addressed during
 O. Ellabban et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014) 748764
integration are power quality, reliability, energy conversion cost
and power system efciency. Research and development regarding
these issues are underway and several methodologies and algo-
rithms have been proposed in order to meet these challenges and
making power grid transition towards smart one in an effective
manner. Fig. 33 gives the brief classication of challenges faced in
integration [63,64].
6. Conclusion
Due to the shortage of inexhaustible resources, and environ-
mental problems caused by the emissions, traditional power
generation based on fossil fuels are generally considered to be
unsustainable in the long term. As a result, many efforts are made
worldwide for introducing more renewable energies in the energy
mix. Renewable energy resources are innovative options for
electricity generation and their potential is enormous as they
can, in principle, meet the world's energy demand many times
over. This paper presents an up-to-date and detailed current status
and future projection of major renewable energy resources, as well
as their benets, growth, investment and deployment. In addition,
the role of power electronics converters as enabling technology for
using different renewable energy resources is illustrated. Further-
more, integration of renewable energy resources into smart grid
system, keeping in mind all challenges, will help in meeting ever-
increasing electric energy demands effectively.
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